🤖 AI Summary
Overview
This episode dives into the state of the video game industry in 2025, exploring its evolution, challenges, and standout titles of the year. Hosts Gilbert Cruz, Zachary Small, and Jason Bailey discuss their personal connections to gaming, the philosophical and artistic aspects of the medium, and the year's most notable releases, including indie hits and major studio blockbusters. They also examine the industry's current challenges, such as rising production costs and market saturation, and share their thoughts on potential Game of the Year contenders.
Notable Quotes
- Video games teach you either how to master a routine or how to break the routine. And those are two very important life skills.
— Zachary Small, on the philosophical lessons of gaming.
- If the games are too expensive that even a major hit can't make enough money, then what can?
— Zachary Small, on the rising costs of AAA game development.
- Not all games are for all people. And if you're listening to this and aren't a gamer, do not pick up Hollow Knight: Silksong. You will, you know, be scarred for life.
— Jason Bailey, on the difficulty of certain games.
🎮 Personal Connections to Gaming
- Zachary Small recalls being introduced to gaming during childhood while recovering from chickenpox, playing Super Mario World on a Super Nintendo. This early experience shaped his appreciation for video games as an art form.
- Jason Bailey shares his evolution from playing classic Nintendo games like Super Mario Bros. 3 and Legend of Zelda to first-person shooters and now indie games, which fit better into his busy schedule as a parent.
- Gilbert Cruz recounts his journey from childhood Nintendo consoles to rediscovering gaming during the 2020 lockdown, playing games like Animal Crossing and Just Dance with his young son.
🕹️ The Philosophy of Gaming
- The hosts discuss the unique qualities of video games as an art form, emphasizing the gameplay loop
— the repetitive actions that players master or break, mirroring life routines.
- Zachary Small highlights how games often explore themes of life, death, and care, teaching players resilience and the importance of breaking free from monotony.
- Jason Bailey categorizes games into three types: short-loop games like Rocket League, longer-loop games like Hades, and narrative-driven artsy
games like Gone Home.
📉 The State of the Gaming Industry in 2025
- The gaming industry is experiencing a slowdown after 30 years of consistent growth, with companies facing financial losses, layoffs, and canceled projects.
- Rising production costs for AAA games, such as the $300 million Spider-Man 2, have created challenges even for successful titles.
- Indie games have thrived in 2025, with many achieving critical and commercial success, signaling a shift in the industry toward smaller, innovative studios.
🏆 Game of the Year Contenders
- Hollow Knight: Silksong: A long-awaited sequel that combines platforming and combat in a challenging Metroidvania
style. While praised for its artistry, its difficulty sparked debate among the hosts.
- Hades 2: A sequel to the hit indie game, set in Greek mythology, praised for its innovative storytelling, voice acting, and addictive gameplay loop.
- Claire Obscure Expedition 33: A French-inspired RPG about mourning and loss, featuring a unique narrative and turn-based battles. Gilbert Cruz described it as teary-eyed
and incredibly exciting.
- Split Fiction: A co-op adventure game that blends science fiction and fantasy, designed to be played with a partner. Both Gilbert Cruz and Jason Bailey enjoyed playing it with their children.
- Blueprints: A puzzle game where players explore a mysterious house to uncover a hidden room, featuring daily resets and intricate puzzles that require note-taking.
🎨 The Art and Accessibility of Indie Games
- Indie games like Hades 2, Silksong, and Claire Obscure Expedition 33 dominated 2025, challenging the notion of what constitutes an indie
game as many achieved massive sales and critical acclaim.
- The hosts highlighted the creativity and emotional depth of indie games, which often rival or surpass AAA titles in storytelling and innovation.
- Zachary Small praised Once Upon a Katamari for its joyful, arcade-like gameplay, while Jason Bailey recommended Is This Seat Taken?, a charming puzzle game with a unique premise.
AI-generated content may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon as a sole source of truth.
📋 Episode Description
This year has been a banner year for video games, with an abundance of surprise releases and unexpected hits.
On this week’s Sunday Special, Gilbert Cruz talks with two fellow gamers — Zachary Small, a culture reporter, and Jason Bailey, an editor on The Times’s culture desk — about the state of the industry, the biggest releases and the games they loved playing in 2025. They also share their predictions for Game of the Year.
On Today’s Episode
Zachary Small is a culture reporter for The Times.
Jason M. Bailey is an editor on the culture desk, and oversees The Times’s video game coverage.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.